Welcome To Lifelock 2.0
- Read our original Lifelock review
With the introduction of Lifelock Command Center Lifelock is moving away from its original business model of placing and renewing fraud alerts to an early warning detection service. Lifelock’s original offerings are still available and currently Command Center is being offered as an additional add-on to their existing service.
So What Is Command Center?
In the past, Lifelock’s critics (justifiably in my opinion) claimed much of Lifelock’s services could be done for free by the consumer themselves. In addition, since it’s universally accepted that no protection service is completely fool proof, many critics also pointed out fraud alerts may create a false sense of security. What consumers really needed, many industry experts argued, was an early warning system designed to alert individuals at the first sign of identity theft. Lifelock’s answer to those critics and countless competitors is the Lifelock Command Center Protection Suite. Here is an explanation of the new features:
- Court Records Alerts and Reports
- Lifelock Personal Breach Detection Services
- Sex Offender Registry Alerts and Reports
- Payday Loan Alerts and Reports
- Public Records Alerts and Reports
- Alias Records Alerts and Reports
Lists court records that match your name and date of birth from county courts, Departments of Corrections (DOC), offices of Administration of Courts (AOC) and other legal agencies to help you verify that criminals aren’t using your name to commit crimes.
Actively monitors unregulated internet and file-sharing networks for your identity information. If Lifelock finds you are at risk, they’ll alert you by e-mail and take emasures to protect you against accidental personal information disclosures.
Lists registered sex offender records for your zip code. It will also alert you if a sex offender is fraudulently using your address.
Notifies you of any payday loan activity with your name, date of birth and Social Security number.
Lists postal addresses associated with your identity found in public records.
Lists alternate names associated with other pieces of your identity (Social Security number, driver’s license, etc.) found in public records.
Opinion
There are a lot of things I think Lifelock is doing right here. I enthusiastically agree with paying attention to non-credit related sources for changes in your personal information. Too many companies focus on just monitoring your credit report which is important but leaves out all the other potential types of identity theft that can occur like criminal identity theft.
I did notice that although Lifelock Command Center says they’ll scan public databases and court records for your identity information, however they don’t disclose how often the scanning will be done. Which concerns me because it matters. Annual scanning would be useless.
Of course, in our attempt to provide our readers with the most accurate information, I called them. The customer service representative didn’t know either and had to transfer me up the food chain. I learned while services like eRecon are daily, most of the Lifelock Identity SDS scans are completed monthly. Very impressive.
Lifelock has definately improved upon it’s original service and I do think it’s worth the increase in premium for the added protection but would it be my pick for “best identity protection“? Except for one thing it would be.
The lack of credit monitoring concerns me. Lifelock does provide annual credit reports but you can get that for free. Compared to services like Identity Guard and ProtectMyID, who both provide near real-time monitoring of your credit report, it still falls a little short. While it’s true other forms of identity theft exist outside your credit report and affect thousands if not millions of Americans every year, the majority of identity theft cases still revolve around your credit report. Actively monitoring your credit file is still your best shot at detecting identity theft early and offering you the greatest chance to “nip it in the bud”.
Still, Command Center is impressive and for some consumers it might be exactly what they’re looking for.
If cost wasn’t an option I’d recommend combining Lifelock Command Center with Experian’s ProtectMyID. There is very little overlap in these two services and the near real-time credit bureau monitoring from ProtectMyID would cover the large blind spot in Lifelock’s coverage. By combining these two services, you’d have a protection package unrivaled in the industry for a little over $20 a month.
Read a detailed ProtectMyID review.
THE GOOD: Increased scanning of a wide assortment of public databases and services unique in the identity protection industry.
THE BAD: The lack of credit report monitoring may concern some consumers.
Visit Lifelock Command Center and get 30 days free and 15% off.
Visit ProtectMyID and get 30 days for $1.